Tips for Producing Professional Quality Work

Alice Alper-Rein JEWELRY BY Y2A, Ltd.
Fine Contemporary Art Jewelry in Silver and Gold

MC TIPS, TRICKS AND TECHNIQUES FOR: PRODUCING PROFESSIONAL QUALITY METAL CLAY WORK

By: Alice Alper-Rein

If you are selling your metal clay creations, teaching metal clay jewelry making techniques or gifting your creations to others (or just thinking about marketing, teaching or gift giving) it’s a good idea to step back and take a critical look at your work product from time to time. Consider adding some of these strategies to your repertoire to step your work up a notch to turn out a professional product:

1. Smooth and sand MC in the greenware stage, BEFORE FIRING to produce a polished and professional finished piece. Methods include using progressively finer grits of wet-dry jewelry grade sandpapers, using baby wipes or water-polishing using a generous amount of water on the tip of a natural hair paint brush, cosmetic sponge or on a foam tipped cosmetic applicator.

2. Speed up sanding tasks with this handmade sanding station. Wrap strips of Wet/dry sanding sheets around a piece of wood (a 2x4 or 1x3) starting with the coarsest grit on the left and continuing with increasingly finer grits of sanding sheets to the right. Secure the strips to the wood with a strong-tack double stick tape. A wooden dowel or a paint stirrer can be substituted for the flat piece of wood for a more portable use, depending upon your sanding needs. Now, all you have to do when sanding your work is to sand from left to right.

3. Did you know that you can pre-fire parts of your design when building a MC piece? Why would you want to pre-fire? Pre-fire for added strength and to insure that a fragile part won’t break off as you complete the sanding and other details on a larger structure. For example, a tiny PMC+ paper cut-out shape might be too flimsy to work with or might break down if too much water is applied to it. A thin “branch like” protrusion with lots of detail might be easier to work on if created separately, sanded and then attached to the main “trunk.” How do you pre-fire? Any method from using a butane torch to kiln firing will work. How long do you need to pre-fire for? That depends on the project at hand. You can simply burn off the binder or fully sinter the fragile part. Wait until parts have air-cooled and then use thick PMC3 slip and lump clay to attach pre-fired parts to your main structure. Fire the finished work for as long and as hot as your inclusions will allow.

4. No matter how “organic” a look you are going for, take the time to remove all burs and sharp points from jewelry components that could tear clothing, irritate skin or hurt someone being hugged by the wearer.

5. Clean up and polish the inside of beads and bails. These hard-to-get-to areas are often neglected because they are so small. Burs and imperfections inside a bead or bail will gradually wear away stringing materials. To prevent this, wrap jeweler’s polishing papers around a small mandrel, a wooden dowel, a needle tool or an artist’s fine paint brush and sand and polish away burs and rough spots inside bails and beads using finer grits as needed. Invest in a rotary tool and some sanding drums and silicon polishing points to make fast work of this task.

6. Even if the work is not intended to be reversible, plan for the back of a piece to be as finished, polished and presentable as the front of the piece. Consider sandwiching the clay between two texture sheets before rolling it out, so both the front and the back of the piece have beautiful textures. Take the time to improve or cover imperfections on the back and sides that might have occurred while you were concentrating on detailing the front of your work. Consider carving a design on the untextured back of the piece while it’s in the greenware stage to camouflage imperfections. Carving tools, an electric engraver or an engraving tip mounted in a flex shaft can be used to create a design on unfired or fired metal. After firing the piece, a variety of steel, brass or bristle brushes can be used (by hand or mounted in a rotary tool) to texture or pattern the back of the piece.

7. Some jewelry artists surprise the viewer by including a delightfully unexpected design element on the back of every piece they create. This “hidden element” can be unique to each piece and follow along with a theme; for example a starfish on the back of a nautical piece. The design element can be a unique texture or a symbol that repeats on the back of every piece the artist creates.

8. Consider creating a “signature” style element that trademarks your body of work. While many MC artists work with hundreds of textures, design elements and shapes, some very successful MC artists “brand” their work by repeatedly using only one texture or design element to create a whole body of work. Exclusive use of a signature design element in all of the brooches, pendants and earrings created by an artist makes his/her work recognizable at a glance.

9. Sign your work. I sign my work by including a tiny tag I created from a photopolymer plate (PPP.) It includes a wealth of information: my name, my company name, my logo with a copyright symbolã, the metal content of the piece, and the year it was created. I create the tags in advance, sometimes using leftover scraps of MC. I dry them and have them on hand to add to my work with thick slip. I fire and drill holes in extra tags to hang on necklaces and bracelets. Signatures need not be elaborate. Some artists use needle tools to inscribe wet clay. Rubber stamp alphabets and numbers can be used to sign and date wet clay. Use an old typewriter to type your name on PMC+ sheet. Use slip to join the PMC+ sheet to your work. Other artist’s carve their signature information into bone dry clay. After firing, an electric etching tool can be used to sign your work. Hammer your maker’s mark onto fired work using metal alphabet and number stamps. Commercially made custom signature stamps can be purchased.

10. Consider increasing the value of your work by including precious gemstones and natural stones that can be fired in place. Some gems that have been tested and can be fired directly into PMC at various temperatures are hematite, garnet, peridot, some moonstones, topaz, labradorite, obsidian, and spectrolite. For more information, and specific firing times and temperatures, follow these links to see the results of metal clay and gemstone test firings conducted by Kevin Whitmore of Rio Grande : http://www.pmcguild.com/download/Tech_Data/Firing_Gemstones_Chart.pdf or http://www.pmcguild.com/download/Tech_Data/GemTests.pdf

11. Consider increasing the value of your work by including precious gemstones, natural stones and other elements that cannot be fired in place. Handmade or commercially made FS bezels or bezel cups and/or silver prong settings can be included in a MC design and fired in place so the gems that can’t withstand the heat of the kiln can later be set in place. Check out Metal Clay Findings http://www.metalclayfindings.com/ for their tabbed bezel wire made specifically for use with MC. Don’t be afraid to use commercial prong settings when strength is an issue. Depletion gild sterling settings before including them in MC or pickle after firing. For detailed directions on creating a stone placeholder for a gemstone that cannot be fired in place, refer to Mary Ellin D'Agostino's booklet "Using Investment Models to Set Stones in Silver Clay" available at www.medacreations.com.

12. To include a faceted gemstone, a cabochon or a half drilled gemstone or pearl that can’t withstand the heat of a MC kiln firing, in your MC creation, try this trick. Use an EAR POST COMPONENT. Coat the post (or the pad if you’ll be setting a half drilled stone or pearl) with thick PMC3 slip and insert it into PMC3 clay. The post can be cut or bent to fit the depth of your project. As the clay fires, it will shrink tightly around the post and grab the grooves or notches on the ear post, securing it in place. Ear posts are available with pads, without pads, with cups and pegs, with prong mountings, snap-set mountings, with loops for dangles, cabochon mountings, with half-balls, balls and with other decorative elements. Pickling may be necessary to remove any firescale that forms on the sterling silver during firing. Set your stones using traditional setting techniques, AFTER firing and burnishing the MC.

13. If bracelet designs include a hook and eye clasp, a toggle clasp, S-clasp, or a magnetic clasp, consider adding on a safety chain. This way, if the clasp gets pushed open, the wearer won’t lose the bracelet. For a more secure clasp on a bracelet, consider using a
fold-over clasp, a safety clasp, a box clasp, or a lobster clasp. Create your own out of MC or depletion gild a commercially made sterling clasp before adding MC elements.

14. Do you want to create a one-of-a kind PMC ring that has the strength of sterling silver? Build your PMC design on a sterling silver channel ring blank. Choose a ring blank in your true ring size (for comfort-add one-half to one full size for a thick band) It won’t shrink during firing. Sterling silver ring blanks are available from jewelry supply companies, in all ring sizes, ranging in price from $5.00-$10.00 per ring blank. Channel rings have a “wall” on each side of your choice of narrow or wide channels. The ring blank can be depletion gilded before adding MC or pickled after firing. I’ve had great luck with both methods. Paint the channel with a layer or two of PMC3 paste. Then use PMC3 clay and/or PMC3 syringe, pre-fired PMC+ paper shapes, fire-in-place gemstones and fine silver casting grain to decorate the channel. The MC will shrink into place, tightly around the channel, so plan the design with this in mind. Fire the ring at PMC 3 temperatures.

15. Metal Clay Findings http://www.metalclayfindings.com/ sells fine silver ring liners and bands that can be customized by adding MC. The milled FS rings are more dense than rings made from MC. They have no visible seams and do not shrink when fired. Ring sizes remain accurate after firing. Embellish with PMC3.

16. Try out the Ringmaker available at www.pmcconnection.com and www.PMC123.com to create a seamless flat or half round ring made entirely of MC. Embellish by adding clay or gemstones or carve to customize.

17. If you’re not sure of the recipient’s exact size when creating a bracelet or necklace, make the item adjustable by including a few extra jump rings or links that will fit closure. Dangle a MC charm from the last link for a trendy finishing touch.

18. Consider creating attachment holes in your PMC creations for jump rings, French ear wires or design elements AFTER firing. This will allow you to drill the appropriate size hole for the use you have in mind. A drill press, a flex shaft or rotary tool fitted with the appropriate size drill bit is the way to go. Here’s how: Drill right after firing, while the piece is still in the “white stage.” The work is softest at this point because it has not yet been work hardened by tumbling/burnishing. To keep the drill bit from skidding and marring the silver, first create a depression where you want the hole to be. Do this by lightly tapping a center punch or a small nail with a hammer over the spot you’d like to drill. Now when you drill, the bit will have a guide hole to follow. If a bur forms after drilling, a light pass with a small metal file is all that is needed to smooth things out. Even better: use the center punch to create a divot in the wet clay as you form the project. After firing, the depression will be ready to drill.

19. Take the time to learn and perfect your skills before selling your work or teaching a class. You owe it to your potential customers and potential students to test drive your designs and teaching skills, work out the kinks, learn to problem solve, learn how to program your kiln, familiarize yourself with proper safety techniques, business and insurance issues, etc… before venturing out into the marketplace. Sometimes it’s hard for us artist types to properly run a business. Remember, you can’t charge people for your inexperience, but you can end up paying dearly for it.

20. Keep good notes along with photos of your work so you will know the formulas and firing times for specific projects, like firing dichroic cabochons in MC or adding enamels into MC or in case you need to remake a piece or replace a stone.

21. Include possible stringing methods, chains or beads, etc… in initial sketches as the MC project is being planned, rather than as an afterthought. While all designs are subject to change as the project evolves, by thinking about complimentary “finishing touches” from the beginning, you’ll be more likely to use supplies you already have on hand.

22. Consider applying a patina to the chain that a pendant or charm will be strung on at the same time the patina is applied to the MC project for a finished look.

23. Mixed metal projects are in vogue. Combine different metal clay components in the same project. Join the elements with jump rings or rivets. Consider using brass or copper sheet as well. Add a touch of gold to your project using the keum boo method, Aura 22 or PMC gold slip. Add some enamel or colored resin to your project. A little goes a long way to add a richness that will elevate your work to a new level.

24. Use a magnifying glass to inspect MC work for small hairline cracks in the clay that can easily be repaired before firing. Another method for inspecting work before or after firing is to take a photo using the macro feature on your camera.

24. Photograph your work before it leaves your studio. When shooting digital images of your MC creations, consider how the photos will be used. A dpi (dots per inch) of 72 is perfect for pictures that will be displayed on a website. Photographing at 300 dpi or greater is a must for photos that will be printed on photo paper or in magazines/books. Grainy photos are the result of shooting the image at too low a resolution and then trying to manipulate the image to a higher dpi using computer software. Consult your camera's instruction manual to learn how to set the camera to take high resolution images in a .jpg or .tiff format. A macro lens or an optical zoom lens is helpful for getting close-up shots of your work. You can purchase professional photo tents/domes and lighting kits or make some yourself from translucent/velum paper and desk lamps. When I first started photographing my work, I used a plastic-gallon milk jug, with its bottom cut off as my "tent" Use a program like Corel Photo Paint or Adobe Photoshop to manipulate, crop and save your work. Choose a background that does not distract the viewer's eye from your work. A black, white or gradient background is sometimes required for contests and jewelry photos that will be printed in books/magazines. If you're having trouble with "hot spots" or shiny areas on a PMC piece, try putting a light patina on your work before photographing it to reduce the glare. Consider using the services of a professional jewelry photographer.

25. Selling at craft fairs or over the internet? Consider unique packaging for your designs. Buyers will be delighted to take home a beautiful piece of jewelry or sculpture in a ready-to- gift equally beautiful package (even if the purchase is just for themselves.) By placing an information label on the inside or outside of the box or bag, the buyer will know how to contact you when they need to buy another gift. Include a care label and a small polishing cloth to complete the professional presentation.